The author's research has emphasized that in addition to providing physical treatment, allied health professionals need to function as resource persons and as advocates for the patient and his family. These roles and the acquisition and inclusion in professional training programs of the skills and knowledge they demand are discussed. (Author/MS)

This report discusses the transition from early intervention services (EI) to preschool services (ECSE), which presents many challenges to children, families, service providers, and programs. The needs and preferences of families from culturally and linguistically diverse groups pose additional challenges. The report reviews the DEC Recommended…

The Sisters in Science Program (SIS), a 2 year intervention, was designed to impact the lives of 4th and 5th grade girls in a variety of ways. The overall goal of the program was to increase girls' attitudes, perceptions, and achievement in science and mathematics. Considered a multi-leveled intervention, SIS sought to create female-friendly…

Work and family form a core relationship in people's lives and many individuals struggle to balance these responsibilities. To explore this balance, some of the issues surrounding attitudes toward gender equality and work-family commitment as related to medical students, are examined in this report. The research focused on patterns of commitment…

A case study approach was used to examine how six service providers constructed the meaning of family-centered services in programs providing early intervention services to the families of young children with disabilities. Six professionals from a pool of over 40 service providers were identified as providing highly family-centered services.…

This conference paper discusses the results of a study that investigated the effectiveness of the Total Family Strategy (TFS), a home-based family support program funded by the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Florida. The program was initiated as a means of introducing a family empowerment model of early intervention into the array of…

In order to assist professionals and policymakers more consistently engage parents in their work, this document uses the personal stories of several parents to illustrate how parents get involved in family programs and how some parents built on their natural leadership abilities to move from personal involvement to take on broader leadership…

Research indicates that parenting styles, family functioning, and parent-child interaction influence career development. The authoritative parenting style is associated with self-confidence, persistence, social competence, academic success, and psychosocial development; parents provide a warm family climate, set standards, and promote independence…

This compilation includes a variety of perspectives and resources on providing appropriate and effective programs and services for young children with autism and their families. It is designed for use by state-level early intervention and early childhood special education staff, local service providers, training and technical assistance providers,…

Faith communities can play an important role in communities by encouraging families to be involved in their children's learning and by forming partnerships that enhance the potential for family and community involvement in children's education. To support these efforts, this publication provides faith community leaders and members with ideas,…

Teachers' most common initiatives to help students in their transition to kindergarten signal a negative shift in quality, nature, and depth of contact. Excerpting an article discussing transition practices of kindergarten teachers, this newsletter issue summarizes a study of 3,595 kindergarten teachers. The teachers were asked about their use of…

This guide to childhood traumatic grief for school personnel builds on the "In-Depth General Information Guide to Childhood Traumatic Grief" and the "Brief Information on Childhood Traumatic Grief" and should be read in conjunction with them. This guide for school personnel pays special attention to the reactions and symptoms school personnel…

Participant observation and intensive interviews of fifty people from a rural midwestern community provided information on the importance of women in women's organizations and in behind-the-scenes arenas of local politics and economics. Bringing women into community studies expands the concept of community into private, familial arenas where…

Reviews experiences of psychiatric patients in the community. Argues that deinsitutionalization and community treatment of the most needy patients have failed because these movements did not address the sociocultural reasons for institutionalization. Presents economic, clinical, and social hypotheses about why failures have occurred. (Author/MJL)

An idea for hands-on activities for families to use in discovering the outdoors together when visiting parks is described. Family packs contain discovery and natural history cards, thermometers, magnifiers, insect boxes, photographs of animals and plants, a pencil, and a feedback form. (SA)